About Us

We believe that games can be both entertaining and help us learn, grow, and live better lives. We see a huge opportunity in developing games based on deeper interactions with language and have built custom natural language processing technology to use in game contexts.

Playmation Studios’ games have won awards for their innovative and engaging learning mechanics and have been featured in many publications including the Washington Post, Boing Boing, and Big Think.

Our Founders

Playmation Studios was founded by brother/sister team Jen and Justin Helms. Jen has stepped back as co-founder and now serves as an advisor while Justin continues on with the company and works to explore new possibilities in designing language games.

Justin is the mastermind behind our natural language processing technology. His unique approach to game design and deep expertise in language is what drives our development of novel game mechanics. His love of language is evidenced by his move to California with just a suitcase so that he could make room to bring 10 boxes of books covering linguistics, engineering and literature. He has a degree in Mathematics from Indiana University.

Jen has a background in education and a strong belief in the power of games for learning. Jen was named one of “50 Women in Tech Dominating Silicon Valley” by Tech.Co and holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management with a focus in entrepreneurship and social enterprise. She began her career as an educator that taught students through real-world games and immersion in the ultimate interactive classroom – Yosemite National Park.